The York Tavern

The York Tavern

Situated in a cracking part of Norwich sits this traditional corner pub. With a fine selection of beers and a fairly decent menu this place is the perfect venue as a cosy winter pub or even a summer venue as it has a huge garden out back.

The Burger

Starting with the burger, the basic one starts at £11 so not a bad price. It was very well cooked and a tasty piece of meat which they were happy to cook medium rare. It was so moist and juicy it was literally dripping with prime beef juice all down my face. Thankfully napkins were provided in vast quantities. It would of looked horrendous on a first date with meat juices flying out everywhere all down my arm, but definitely worth it on a fourth or fifth date to test the waters to see if your partner is a keeper or not. Upon eating, the burger melted in the mouth, exactly why medium rare is so good, it required next to no mastication.

The downside with it being so juicy was the bun could not handle it, ideally it needed to be toasted to lock in the juice a bit more and stop it turning into a soggy mess. Speaking of the bun this was really the main let down of the towering beef stack. It was surprising quite stale and dry, as I went mid week I'm wondering if the bun was either left over from the weekend or frozen and thawed out. Either way I can guarantee it wasn't fresh, which surprising did have a big impact on the overall enjoyment of the eating. Thankfully the juiciness of the burger did counteract this slightly but a fresh bun would of elevated this moist beefy monstrosity to a whole new level.

The bacon came as an additional extra. Though it was very tasty and very crisp, it did cost a whopping £1.50 just for one rasher. I would of at least expected two pieces at that sort of price. The garnishes were classic which I enjoyed, tomato and lettuce. Added a all round freshness that cut through this meaty delight. The only aspect I think could of made this slightly better would be a touch of mustard or some sort of pickle just to add in that extra taste sensation.

The Sides

It came with coleslaw and chunky ish chips. The coleslaw looked homemade and I have to say was very nice. Not too creamy and still had a good crunch to the cabbage. Similarly the chips, though not homemade I don't think, were crispy and cooked well so again I can neither complain nor rave about them. They were just standard bulk bought ones but cooked well.

Overall

The main aspect of the dish, the burger, was incredible without a shadow of a doubt. The bun was a bit of a let down, which I did mark the bicycle shop down heavily for, but at least this one still looked presentable so not as bad. It could also do with some sort of pickle element as I mentioned before and I really think they need to assess their bacon rationing (pun intended) as £1.50 for a single slice is ridiculous, I don't care how well it is cooked. Weighing everything up though the pros outweigh the cons and the venue has a great atmosphere so definitely worth a visit, maybe just take a jar of pickles with you.

6.5/10

The York Tavern

1 Leicester Street

Norwich

NR2 2AS